Furnace for heating ingots.



N0. 69!,849. Patented Jan. 28, I902. V. E. EDWARDS &. P. B. MORGAN.

FURNACE FOR HEATING INGDTS.

(Application filed June 17, 1897.)

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(No Model.)

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N0. 653L849. Patented .Ian. 28, 5902.

' V. E. EDWARDS &. P. B. MORGAN.

FURNACE FOR HEATING INGOTS.

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N M Q A NTTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

'YICTOR E. EDWARDS AND PAUL B. MORGAN, OF WORCESTER, MASSA- CI-IUSETTS,.ASSIGNORS TO THE MORGAN CONSTRUCTION- COMPANY, OF WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS.

FURNACE FOR HEATING INGOTS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 691,849, dated January 28, 1902. v

' Application filed J 1111617, 1897. Serial No. 641,191. (No model.)

To etZZ whom it may concern.- Be it known that we, VICTOR ErEDWARDS and PAUL B. MORGAN, citizens of the United States, residing at Worcester, in the county of Worcester and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Furnaces for Heating Ingots, of which the following is a specification, accompanied by drawings forming a part of the same, in [O which 7 Figure 1 is a central longitudinal vertical sectional view. Fig. 2 is a top view of our improved furnace shown in horizontal sectional view on line 2 2, Fig. 1, with the ihgots removed to disclose the supporting-track. Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view on line 3 3, Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a sectionalview, in cross-section, of one of the water-pipes which are carried through the heating-chamber for the pur- 2o pose of supporting the ingots.

Similar letters refer to similar parts in the different figures.

, Our present invention has for its object .to increase the efliciency of an ingot-heating 2 5 furnace, and this object is attained by means of the construction and arrangement of the parts as hereinafter described, and set forth in the annexed claims.

Referring to the drawings, A A denote the side walls of the furnace, B the roof, and C the bed of the furnace, inclosing a heatingchamber D. Openings E E are provided at opposite ends of the furnace to allow the entrance and delivery of ingots to and from the 3 5 heating-chamber. Pipes F F, forming a track for the ingots, aresupported upon a series of pipes F which extend transversely across the heating-chamber and are supported at their ends by the side walls of the furnace.

0 Means are provided for maintaining a forced current of water through all the water-pipes in the usual manner in order toprotect them from the intense heat of the heating-chamber. The transverse pipes F are placed some distance apart and form, with the longitudinal pipes F, a networkof water-pipes supporting the ingots about midway between the roof and the floor of the heating-chamber and present little obstruction to the passage of heat.

Each of the pipes F and F consists of a double cylindrical pipe of uniform thickness, but formed of an outer pipe F subjected directly to the action of the heat, and an inner pipe F through which a circulation of water is maintained. The outer and inner'pipes are not attached to each other throughout their length, but are free to expand or contract independently. The thickness of metal composing each of the pipes F and F is uniform throughout the pipe, so that the action of heat and the neutralizing effect of the water will be substantially uniform throughout the whole area of the pipe. As the outer pipe F of the transverse pipes enters the side walls of the heating-chamber and is supported thereby, the outer pipe Ftbecomes the ingotsupporting pipe and the inner pipe F the Water-eonduit. The pipes F F are carried horizontally from the entrance-openingE just through the zone of maximum heat to a point F, from which point the track is preferably sharply-inclined, as at F, to cause the heated ingot to be rapidly carried through the de livery-opening of the furnace. The pipes F F are parallel from the entrance-opening E to the point F of their entrance into the zone of maximum heat, from which point the pipes preferably approach each other, but in the same horizontal plane, through the zone of maximum heat, as shown at F FZFig. 2, in order to change the bearing-surface of the ingots upon the pipes F F and to expose to the action of the heat that surface of the ingot which had lain in contact with the pipes F F throughout the parallel section of the track.

The ingots G are pushed by a reciprocating pusher G from a platform or car Gr through the opening E onto the pipes F F, each ingot being pushed along by the next succeeding ingot until it reaches the inclined surface F 0 of the track, where it is moved by gravity through the delivery-opening E. The entrance-opening E is closed bya series of swinging doors H, which are hinged upon'a plate H, forming the end wall of the heating-chamber. Each of the swinging doors H is held down by gravity against the end wall H of the furnace in order to close the entranceopening, except during the passage of an ingot, when it is raised by the advancing ingot. I00

\Vhen ingots of different lengthsare pushed into the furnace, only those swinging doors will be raised which are in contact with the ingot, the doors at each end of the ingot remaining closed, so that an opening into the furnace is made of the length of the ingot only. The entrance-opening E is also closed when the furnaceis not in operation by a sliding door H sliding in vertical ways upon the end plate H and being recessed at H to receive the hinges of the swinging doors H. The delivervopening E is closed by a door formed in two sections, one section I being capable of a vertically-sliding movement and provided with a series of narrow vertical openings I to allow access to the advancingingot and permit it to be drawn, by means of hooks, upon the inclined section of track F, if desired, and a second section 1 located immediately below the section I and having a hinged connection to the section I at its upper edge by means of the bent arms 1 so that the section I is capable of a vertically-sliding motion as the section I is raised or lowered and also of a swinging motion in a short circular arc of considerable radius, due to the length of the bent arms 1 and as the section I hangs normally in a nearly vertical plane the movement of the section I approximates a horizontal line, and the angle subtended by its swinging motion is reduced by the length of the bent arms 1 so that the weight of the door affords but slight resistance to the movement of the ingot.

Near the delivery end of the furnace is a pit J, having its bottom considerably below the level of the bed of the furnace and provided with openings J on a line with the bottom to allow it to be cleaned. In one of the vertical side walls J of the pit are a series of openings J communicating with a supplycharnber for gas, and a series of openings J", arranged alternately and com municating with an air-supply under pressure. Through these openings gaseous fuel is admitted to the pit J. The opposite side wall J of the pit is bent or curved in its upper portion, so that the impinging currents of flame will be deflected upward beneath the advancing row ofingots G. The products of combustion pass from the pit J toward the entrance end of the furnace through the space between the row of ingots G and the bed 0 of the furnace and escape through the downward flue K, transverse flue K, and smoke-stack K The side walls A A of the furnace are provided with shouldersL L, forming a contracted space L between the shoulders and the ends of the ingots, through which a minor portion of the products of combustion pass into the space D above the ingots and escape through a smokestaok M. The shoulders L L allow the ingots to be considerably shortened without increasing the space L, which it is desired to keep contracted, so that the greater portion of the products of combustion will pass below the ingots to the fine K. In addition to the contracted space L between the ends of the ingots and the shoulder L we provide a narrow space at the end of the row of ingots, as at N, and we place an escape-flue O at the delivery end of the furnance, communicating with the upper portion D of the heating-chamber for the purpose of inducing a current from the pit J past the ingots at the end of the row in order to increase the heat applied to the ingots just prior to their delivery to the inclined section F of the track. Dampers P, P, and P are provided in order to control the draft through each of the escape-fines, and thereby regulate the flow of heated gases in the interior of the furnace. As heat is communicated more rapidly to a body placed directly over the flame, we greatly increase the efliciency of the furnace by carrying the row of ingots through the upper portion of the heating-chamber and by applying heat from below. As the natural movement of the current of heated gases is upward, it is intercepted by the row of ingots, which forms a partial roof to the lower portion of the heating-chamber, causing the current to impinge against the entire surface of the ingots. We also control the movement of heat between the opposite ends of the furnace and between the lower and upper portions of the heatingchamber by multiplying the escape-fines, and thereby inducing a draft toward either fine. The cinder or molten metal is allowed to fall below the flame and be deposited in a deadspace, from which it is readily withdrawn through openings below the heating-chamber and the current of heated gases therein.

The pit J serves the double purpose of a receptacle for cinders or slag and also as a combustion-chamberin which the air and gas received through the ports J 3 and J 4 become properly mixed and ignited at considerable distance below the row of ingots, against which they are directed by the deflecting-wall J the current assuming the direction indicated by the arrows l and impinging against the under side of the row of ingots'at a distance of, say, five or six ingots from the advancing end of the row. The point of impingementof the current and heated gases against the under side of the row of ingots therefore becomes the point of greatest heat, the intensity of the heat decreasing toward either end of the furnace. Each ingot as it is pushed into the heating-chamber and moved by successive steps along the track F is gradually absorbing heat and passing from a cooler to a hotter zone until it reaches the position in which it receives the direct current of flame, as indicated by the arrows 1 1, and occupies the hottest position in the heating-chamber andis subjected toaheat considerably higher than the desired heat of the ingot. As the ingot passes from the hottest point in the heating-chamber toward the delivery end of the furnace the heat which it has already absorbed becomes uniformly distributed throughout the entire mass of the ingot, so

that the core of the ingot becomes as hot as its outer surface. When the heated ingot reaches the inclined section of the track, it is rapidly moved by gravity against the swinging section 1 of the door, which is opened that the heat at the hottest point will not exceed the desired heat of the ingots, then the ingots at the advancing end of the row, which have already passed the hottest point, will be gradually cooled. In order to prevent the undue cooling of the ingots at the forward end of the row, we open the damper P in the escape-flue O, which diverts the current of heated gases in the direction of the arrows 2, bringing the ingots at the end of the row into the direct current.

As the complete ignition of the gaseous fuel takes place at some distance from the mouth of the ports J 3 J it is necessary to provide space for the proper admixture of the air and gas and its complete ignition, so that'the current will reach the point of maximum heat when it impinges against the row of ingots, and we secure this result by forming the pit J of considerable depth below the row of ingots and employing the upper portion of the pit for a mixing and combustion chamber, and we increase the efficiency of the furnace by locating the combustion-chamber beneath the ingots instead of above them, so that the direction of the current against the ingots is inthe line of its natural upward movement. We also increase the efficiency of the furnace by arranging the ingots in a. continuous row through the upper portion of the heatingchamber,thereby partially forming a roof,beneath which the greater portion of the products of combustion are conducted to the downward flue K.

. In the operation of the furnace a small portion only of the products of combustion pass the row of ingots into the upper portion D of theheating-chamber and find their escape through the stack M, and the amountcan be increased or diminished by opening or closing the damper P.

What we claim as ourinvention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a furnace for heating ingots, provided with an opening adapted to receive an ingot broadside, an outer door by which said opening is closed and a series of inner swinging doors arranged in a row across said opening within said outer door and adapted to be opened by the advancing side of the ingot, substantially as described.

2. The combination with'a furnace for heating ingots provided with an opening adapted to receive an ingot broadside, of a series of doors arranged in a row across said opening whereby said opening is closed in sections and a sliding door sliding outside said sectional door, substantially as described.

3. The combination with afurnace for heating ingots provided with an opening'adapted to receive an ingot broadside, of a series of swinging doors, hinged to the end wall of the furnace and adapted to be raised by the forward movement of the ingot and a sliding door outside said swinging doors, said sliding door having a recess to receive said swinging doors, substantially as described.

4. The combination with the heating-chamber, of a series of transverse water-pipes supported at their ends by the side walls of the furnace, and a pair of longitudinal waterpipes resting on said transverse water-pipes, forming a track for the ingots between'the upper and lower sections of theheating-chamher, said transverseand longitudinal pipes having spaces between them for the movement of heated gases from the lower to the upper sections of'the heating-chamber, s ubsl'antially as described. 5. The combination withthe heating-chamher, of a series of transversewater -pipes supported by the side walls of the furnace, and provided with spaces between them, a pair of longitudinal water-pipes resting on said transverse water-pipes and forming a track for the ingots, an opening for the admission of fuel below said track near one end of the heating-chamber, and an opening for the escape of the products of combustion below said track and near the opposite end of'th e heating-chamber, substantially as described.

6. The combination with the heating-cham- IOO her having an opening at one end for. the admission of ingots and an opening at the oppo site end for the delivery of ingots, of a pit at the delivery end of said chamber, fuel-ports opening into said pit, below the bed of the chamber and a door below said fuel-ports for the removal of slag, substantially as described.

7. The combination with the heating-chamcape-fine at the delivery end, and means for regulating the openings in said escape-fines, substantially as described. J

8. The combination with the heating-cham her having an opening at one end for the admission of ingots, and an opening at its oppo site end for the delivery of ingots, of a fuel opening at the delivery end of the chamber,

'a downward escape-flue at the charging end of the chamber, upward escape-fines at the opposite ends of the heating-chamber, means for regulatingthe openings in said flues, and a track raised above the bed of the chamber, substantially as described.

9. The combination with a heating-charm her having a delivery-opening for the discharge of heated billets, of a sliding door arranged to close the upper part of said opening, and a swinging door arranged to close the lower part of said opening, said swinging door being hinged to said sliding door, substantially as described.

10. In a furnace for heating ingots, the combination with a chamber having a deliveryopening for delivering an ingot broadside from said chamber of a sliding door arranged to close the npperportion of said opening and a swinging door hinged to said sliding door and adapted to be swung by gravity in order to close the lower portion of said opening, substantially as described.

11. The combination with the heating-' chamber having a delivery -opening at one end, of a sliding door, arranged to close the upper part of said opening, and a hinged door arranged to close the lower part of said opening, said sliding door having a series of openings, substantially as described.

12. The combination with the heatingchamber, of a series of pipes by which the in-' gots are supported in said chamber, said pipes consisting of an outer cylindrical pipe and an inner cylindrical pipe having a water circulation therein, said outer pipes being supported by the walls of the furnace, and being free to expand independently of the expansion of said inner pipes, substantially as described.

13. In a continuous heating-furnace, the combination of hollow billet-supports extending from the front end of the furnace toward the rear end thereof, hollow bearings for the billet-supports arranged transversely of the furnace, and means for supplying the billetsupports and bearings with a cooling fluid, 40

substantially as described.

Dated this 14th day of June, 1897.

VICTOR E. EDXVARDS. PAUL B. MORGAN.

Vitnesses:

RUFUS B. FOWLER, M. 0. PRICE. 

